KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines will start thrice-weekly direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul on Oct 25.

Departures from Kuala Lumpur are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, Malaysia Airlines said in a statement on Sunday.

At the moment, the service to the Turkish city is via Dubai.

"We will be delinking Dubai from Istanbul. Instead, we will be flying direct to Istanbul as we see the great potential of the destination," Malaysia Airlines senior general manager for network and revenue management Dr Amin Khan said in the statement.

MAS also plans to link its network from Australia to Istanbul via Kuala Lumpur.

-- BERNAMA